Settlement reached in Turlock animal abuse case

Clinging to life. This chicken was one of the few lucky ones rescued from a closed Turlock egg far in 2012. ( Marji BeachAnimal Place)

A settlement was reached today, Aug. 21, in a civil suit against two egg farmers who left 50,000 of chickens to die in their cages of starvation or drowning in manure. The rescue of almost 5,000 of the chickens was the largest ever undertaken in California.

All of the details of the settlement were not made public, although the Animal Legal Defense Fund said it had reached an agreement with Andy Cheung and Lien Diep, operators of A & L Poultry near Turlock. Under the settlement, Cheung, who managed the operation, is permanently prohibited from working with animals again. Diep agreed to a similar ban.

The suit alleges that Cheung and Diep abandoned 50,000 hens, leaving them without food for weeks, when the operation shut down in February 2012. Tens of thousands starved to death while others drowned in giant manure pits beneath their cages.

The three rescue groups stepped in the rescue the chickens, but were denied access to the farm. While volunteers waited outside, they could see and hear the chickens being gassed and tossed into a front loader. They eventually were able to rescue and rehome almost 5,000 hens.

“The court’s affirmation that A & L Poultry bears financial responsibility for its cruel mismanagement sends a message to agribusiness that it can no longer abuse animals without consequence,” Animal Place executive director Kim Sturla said in a press statement. “These men left 50,000 individuals to suffer and die, and while it’s gratifying that Animal Place staff and volunteers saved nearly 4,500 lives and placed them in loving homes, this tragic situation should never have happened in the first place.”

Animal Legal Defense Fund and the law firm Schiff Hardin provided pro bono counsel, suing A & L Poultry on behalf of the sanctuaries that rescued and rehabilitated the surviving hens. At the sanctuaries, these hens were able to engage in natural behaviors and feel the earth beneath their feet for the first time in their lives. Most all were adopted into loving homes.

Cheung and Diep still face criminal prosecution for felony animal cruelty. Each defendant faces up to three years in prison and fines of up to $20,000 under California law that makes it a crime to deprive animals of proper food, water, or shelter, or to inflict needless suffering and unnecessary cruelty.

Happier days for rescued chickens. ( Marji BeachAnimal Place)

“The egg industry is rife with routine animal suffering, but today’s settlement ensures that those responsible for the tragedy in Turlock are permanently out of the business of raising animals,” Matthew Liebman, senior attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement.